Linguistics and the Book of Mormon
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Linguistic analysis is an important part of a critical look at the Book of Mormon to determine its validity as an ancient text. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations, the Book of Mormon is a 19th century translation of a historical record of the inhabitants of the American continent, written in reformed Egyptian. The introduction to the Book of Mormon reads:
- The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians. (Introduction to the Book of Mormon (http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/intrdctn))
Both critics and proponents of the Book of Mormon have used linguistic methods to analyze the text. Proponents have discovered stylistic forms that Joseph Smith and contemporaries are unlikely to have known about, as well as similarities to the Egyptian and Hebrew languages that the book claims to have been written in. Critics point out places where the language seems to be anachronistic, a common sign of a fictional work.
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Chiasmus
Relatively recently, a poetical form was found to be common in ancient Middle Eastern poetry, as well as in some parts of the Bible. Dubbed "chiasmus", it is a form of parallelism wherein key ideas familiar to the reader are inverted, usually to make a point (see entry on chiasmus for examples). It seems unlikely that this form of poetry was recognized in the 1800s, although instances of the rhetorical style have been found in writings from this period. In the 1960s, an LDS scholar, John Welch, discovered many uses of chiasm in the Book of Mormon. (See Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon (http://www.jefflindsay.com/chiasmus.shtml) for several examples.) The most commonly cited example is the prophet Alma's religious experience, as recorded in Alma 36 (http://scriptures.lds.org/alma/36).
Writings in the form of Chiasmus are also found in other documents authored by Joseph Smith, lending further credibility to Joseph Smith as the sole author of the Book of Mormon. This includes the Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, and Smith's own diary. This pattern is rather obvious and is most likely present due to the Bible being used to instruct individuals in how to write. With the Bible as the primary literary source in Joseph Smith's lifetime it is almost a given that certain structures of writing would carry over into his constructs.
- Chiasmus in other LDS scripture:
- D&C: 88:34-38
- D&C: 93:18-38
- D&C: 132:19-26
- D&C: 29-36
- PoGP, BoA: 3:16-19
- PoGP, BoA: 22-28
Richard C. Shipp has produced a masters thesis out of BYU titled "Conceptual Patterns of Repetition in the Doctrine and Covenants and Their Implications". This thesis shows evidence that Smith had both the rhythm of Chiasmus and similar literary patterns throughout his writings.
Chiastic patterns have also been found in the Book of the Law of the Lord (http://www.strangite.org/Chiasmus.htm), a purported translation of an ancient text by James J. Strang, who is considered by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) to be the true successor to Joseph Smith. This book is not considered authentic by members of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Critics point out that the presence of chiasmus in Strang's writing as well as the literature of other cultures implies that the source could be non-Hebrew. Additionally, they claim that the process of translation would make identifying chiasmus from the original reformed Egyption difficult. See Ancient Chiasmus Studied (scroll to p 147) (http://content.lib.utah.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=20466) or Chiasmus and the Book of Mormon (http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/chiasmusandthebom.htm)
Stylometry
Stylometry is a method of statistical analysis used to determine authorship of various texts. It has been used to analyze disputed works of Shakespeare, contrast books of the Bible, identify the authors of twelve disputed Federalist Papers, and compare styles of various authors such as Jane Austen. In 1980, researchers at Brigham Young University used stylometric techniques they called "wordprint analysis" to examine the possible authors of the Book of Mormon. They reached the conclusion that none of the Book of Mormon selections they studied resembled writings of any of the suggested nineteenth-century authors, including Joseph Smith.
Their findings have been challenged on various points; see Book Of Mormon "Wordprints" Reexamined (http://www.lds-mormon.com/wordprin.shtml) for a critical viewpoint of BYU's stylometric research.
Proper Names
The Book of Mormon contains over 300 proper names, which some consider a strong evidence that the book could not have been written in the 19th century. Some of these names are found in the Bible and the Apocrypha (e.g. Nephi: II Maccabbees 1:36; Lehi: Judges 15:9; Lemuel: Proverbs 31:1; Ammon: Genesis 19:38; Enos: Genesis 4:26; and many others). A few of the names are similar to place names around New York that existed before the Book of Mormon was first published (e.g. Lehi, Onidah, Morianton, Jacobugath, Alma, Shilom, Kishkumen, Moron, Shurr, Ogath, and Ramah).
Many non-biblical names found in the Book of Mormon resemble words from ancient Hebrew (e.g. Alma, Sariah, Aha, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, and Muloki). Others, however, are Greek names it is thought Lehi and his company could not have known before leaving Jerusalem, which seems to suggest a modern origin (e.g. Antipas, Archeantus, Ezias, Jonas, Judea, Timothy, and Zenos).
While the similarities to biblical, geographical, and Greek names do not seem to be strong enough to present strong evidence against the validity of the Book of Mormon, neither do the similarities to Hebrew names provide us with evidence for the book's claims.
Possible Anachronisms
Word Choice in Translation
One complication in linguistic analysis of the Book of Mormon is that no original text is available for analysis; only the English text produced by Joseph Smith is available. As with any translation, the influence of the translator is inextricably part of the translated text in matters of word choice. Therefore, when words are found in the Book of Mormon that seem anachronistic, or that refer to items not found in the pre-Columbian Americas, these words (e.g. horse, steel, iron, silk, elephant, chicken, cattle, swine, barley, wheat, figs, bees, ass, bull, calf, and hilt) could be an approximation in translation to things that did exist in pre-Columbian America.
With that in mind, there are still some problematic matters of word choice in the Book of Mormon text. Most of these deal with concepts for which there is little or no evidence for their existence in pre-Columbian America.
"Christ" and "Messiah"
The word "Christ" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered "Messiah." Though both words have the meaning of "anointed," Christ is used as a name-title in a way Messiah is not (i.e. Jesus Christ). If the Book of Mormon is a true translation, critics contend, then the English words "Christ" and "Messiah" ought necessarily to be the interchangeable translations of a single reformed Egyptian word used on the gold plates. Interestingly, this is not the case. One of the passages most problematic to this theory occurs in 2 Nephi 10:3, in which the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob says an angel informed him that the name of the Messiah would be Christ:
- Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ--for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name--should come among the Jews (2 Nephi 10:3 (http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/10/3#3))
Here Jacob speaks as if the Nephites did not know as yet that the Messiah would be known by the actual Greek word, "Christ." Accordingly, this is the first time "Christ" is used in the Book of Mormon. Only "Messiah" was used before this point.
"Church" and "Synagogue"
The word "church" first occurs in 1 Nephi 4:26, where a prophet named Nephi disguises himself as Laban, a prominent man in Jerusalem whom Nephi had slain:
- And he [Laban's servant], supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me. (1 Nephi 4:26 (http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/4/26#26))
This exchange allegedly happened in Jerusalem, around 600 B.C. What reformed Egyptian phrase would have been translated as "brethren of the church"? The entire concept is unfamiliar to Judaism of that era.
A similar difficulty occurs with the word "synagogue", found for example in Alma 16:13:
- And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews. (Alma 16:13 (http://scriptures.lds.org/alma/16#13))
Most biblical scholars believe that synagogues did not exist before the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity, and hence would be unknown to the people of the Book of Mormon, said to have fled Jerusalem around 600 B.C.
The King James Bible
The Book of Mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the King James Bible. In some cases, entire passages of scripture are duplicated in the Book of Mormon. Sometimes the source is acknowledged, as in the book of 2 Nephi, where 18 chapters of Isaiah are quoted. The English text is copied nearly verbatim from the Authorized Version, with minor changes in the majority of verses. In other cases, the source is not acknowledged, especially in the case of seemingly anachronistic borrowings.
Anachronistic Borrowings
The Book of Mormon quotes portions of the Bible which did not exist in Book of Mormon times, both post-exile parts of the Old Testament as well as sections of the New Testament. For example, a lengthy verse from 1 Corinthians 13, "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things," is quoted in Moroni 7:45 (http://scriptures.lds.org/moro/7#45).
A lengthy list of all possible unattributed, anachronistic quotations can be found in the Skeptic's Annotated Book of Mormon (http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/BOM/plag.html).
Unique Words and Phrases
There are many words and phrases which, when found in the Book of Mormon, exist only in a KJV context, suggesting that the words were not part of the author's daily vocabulary, but were used only in borrowings from the Authorized Version. For example, "fervent" and "elements" each appear twice, both times together in the same phrase, and in the same context as 2 Peter 3:10 (III Nephi 26:3, Mormon 9:2). Also, "talent" is used only once, in the same context as Matthew 25:28 (Ether 12:35).
Words and phrases used in a KJV context (http://web.archive.org/web/20010630055045/%68ttp://www.primenet.com/~heuvelc/bom/contxt.htm)
Mistranslations
This is an issue where the KJV contains mistranslations perpetuated in the Book of Mormon, implying that the Book of Mormon used the KJV as a source. A few examples are 2 Nephi 19:1, 2 Nephi 21:3, and 2 Nephi 16:2. The Book of Mormon also references "dragons" and "satyrs" in 2 Nephi 23:21-22, matching the KJV, whereas more modern bible translations do not include these mythological beasts.
The Book of Mormon also quotes Isaiah 7, particularly: "a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (2 Nephi 17:14 (http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/17#14)). Jews generally consider this to be a mistranslation of the KJV, since the Hebrew word for "virgin" is "bethulah", whereas Isaiah uses the word "almah", meaning "young woman". See Dispute regarding Isaiah 7:14.
The quotation of Isaiah 2:16 by 2 Nephi 12:16, "And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures" is sometimes used as evidence of an ancient source for the Book of Mormon. The KJV contains only half the phrase, while the Septuagint contains the other half. Some Book of Mormon scholars conclude that an ancient text contained the phrase intact, which the Book of Mormon used as a source, while the Septuagint and the KJV each lost a different half. Unfortunately, Isaiah 2:16 is part of a poetic section and is a rhyming couplet; the Book of Mormon contains three phrases at this section where the meter dictates there should be only two. A detailed discussion of the evidence for and against is 2 Nephi 12 and the Septuagint (http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/2nephi12.shtml).
Importance to Latter-day Saints
Although many LDS scholars spend significant time researching historical evidence for the verity of their religion, they are quick to point out that these matters are secondary to them. In the view of most Latter-day Saints, a spiritual experience invoked through prayer is the primary way to gain a personal conviction that the Book of Mormon is authentic. Dallin H. Oaks, one of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church, stated:
- Our individual, personal testimonies are based on the witness of the Spirit, not on any combination or accumulation of historical facts. If we are so grounded, no alteration of historical facts can shake our testimonies. ("1985 CES Doctrine and Covenants Symposium," Brigham Young University, Aug. 16, 1985, page 26)